After reading the article “Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia” which was written by Kieu-Linh Caroline Valverde, many thoughts came up in my mind. The article is from the professor's own words, which argues the unfair treatment of the colored woman.
As Valverde states, it is too toxic for colored women in the field of academic, where exists numerous discrimination behaviors as well as difficulties for promotion. It would be a miracle for such a woman to defeat all those only with her own wisdom in a health condition (Valverde 2013, p. 368). I agree with this statement, for which, when I imagine a scientist, the image of Einstein's tongue is always in my mind, but almost no image of a female scientist. It could be said that in textbooks and media reports, the number of photos of male scientists is far more than that of female scientists. In fact, the academic community has a long history of hostility to women. This community of human elites should have been at the forefront of the times, but it has not become a leader in fighting for gender equality, instead, it lags behind society. The situation of white women is still so difficult, and women of color suffer more discrimination. In Western mythology and history, there are many beautiful and powerful black women, but we seem to know little about them today. The reason behind it is self-evident that Western works of art and historical narratives quietly erase them as if they never existed. Women have always existed as the passive second sex, and within women, people of color are discriminated against and oppressed by gender and race.
My question is: what should people do to alleviate this discrimination against women of color in academia?
Reference
Valverde, K. L. C. (2013). Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia. Seattle J. Soc. Just., 12, 367-420.
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